Historic Macon house gets energy efficiency makover

Josh Rogers admits that the combination that led to the restoration of the house at 306 Orange St. is a little counter-intuitive -- that green techniques can be used to restore an historic home.

We wanted to demonstrate that you could have an historic house and make it (energy) efficient without it having to cost an arm and a leg, said Rogers, the executive director of Historic Macon

Rogers said that didnt keep some of the board of Historic Macon from being nervous at the prospect of restoring the huge house that was first built in the 1880s.

We thought it was a huge risk to try to restore a house this size in this market, he said. But we felt the need to take a leadership role and show it could get done, get done green and get done on time.

Historic Macons role is to acquire a property, restore it and then re-sell it, and the Orange Street house is the biggest project the organization has ever tackled, Rogers said. Its also the riskiest, since it figured to be a challenge to resell in the current real estate market.

Rogers said it took about six months to restore the house, costing about $400,000, including about $60,000 worth of in-kind donations. Rogers wouldnt reveal the final sales price, since the house hasnt closed, but he said Historic Macon would just about break even.

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